School district leaders meet concerned parents with online forum

Facing the dire challenges of housing insecurity, food insecurity, and job insecurity, a core community group came together in June to identify the issues most important to them. Ultimately, education was the decided priority.

Sonoma Valley School Superintendent Socorro Shiels addressed the issues during a virtual forum organized by a grassroots group that grew out the El Verano Community Forum, and that has called attention to urgent needs in the Latino and larger community since 2016.

Yasmín Gómez, Ana Paty Ríos, Araceli Ruíz, and Jerónima Bataz, on behalf of many concerned parents in the Valley, invited the Superintendent, Director of Special Education Tony Vernier, and School Board President John Kelly to attend a Zoom meeting on June 24. Their letter, in response to the District’s June 15 message to all parents, contained questions they hoped Shiels would answer in detail, with specifics on technological training for teachers, students, and parents; transportation; after-school programs; evaluation; and support for Special Education programs and English Learners.

About 75 people attended, including Trustee Britta Johnson, District staff Irene Preciado, and Sonoma Mayor Logan Harvey. The entire event was conducted in both English and Spanish.

Questioned by Ruiz about the failures in technology, Shiels acknowledged the many difficulties parents, teachers, and students had faced with distance learning. She said the District is researching better wi-fi, and announced planned video trainings for parents this summer.

Gómez asked the Superintendent if the students could be three days on-site, and two with distance learning. Shiels replied that they are looking at different models, and affirmed that the District “wants to have students in school as much as possible.”

In response to questions about the students with special needs, new Director of Special Ed Vernier, just two weeks into her role, replied that “the District is paying special attention to special needs children and English learners,” and said she is looking for “an increased level of District accountability,” including “more assessment and more contact between these students and their teachers.” She acknowledged that IEPs (Independent Education Plans) had not been met, and the English Learners and kids with special needs “were not well served” in the spring. The new kid on the block, she pointed out that nationwide IEPs were not being met. “A light was shined that struggling learners need more; home study is not enough. The District is looking for different models.” The Superintendent stated her commitment to giving special needs children more time on site. 

Regarding the agreed-upon need for re-assessment of students, parents requested that the District accomplish this now, before school opens. 

Concerning distance learning, Ana Ríos stated that the half-hour each student had with a teacher “obviously had not been enough,” and asked how much time is planned. Shiels replied that these decisions are driven by the student’s age; younger ones cannot stay focused on a screen for a long time. She told the gathering “We know this is really hard, logistically it will be really hard on everyone.”

With regard to transportation and after-school learning programs such as ACES, Shiels underlined the challenge of serving as many students as possible while maintaining safe distancing. Parents who wrote questions online expressed many concerns about the health and safety of their children. They asked about coronavirus testing each child before the schools open, and suggested temperature screening of children each time they arrive at school. Deep cleaning of classrooms and shared facilities was a concern, as well as how children can wear masks constantly. 

At the conclusion of almost two hours, Superintendent Sheils acknowledged that families need details, soon. She said her aim is to have “firm answers by mid-July.”

Speaking afterward, as an organizer of this successful meeting between parents and the people in charge of their children’s education, Ana Paty Ríos commented, “We only did what we think is right for our children.” She added thoughtfully, “Above all, we want to be a part of developing these plans, and to support the changes.” Several times during the forum parents affirmed their willingness to help, to be part of planning and implementing measures to meet the many additional challenges of providing education in the time of Covid.